In A Grove 2023

Stella McAloon ’25

My Biggest Fear

If someone asked my biggest fear I wouldn’t say the dark, Or the flu, Or even a great white shark; But you.

You’re the first person I see when I wake up in the morning, And the last to say goodnight.

You’re the only one who listens, even when we fight.

When we’re alone in the night you tug and you pull, but you’ve already won. You trace the dots on my face left by the sun, Map out the scars drawn on my arms

But how can these landmarks be mine when you’re the one who put them there?

You dug up the ground and planted a blade, but there was no pain. And when the grass grew back, it didn’t grow full of roses or flowers, it painted a stain.

A stain of despair, guilt and pain. A stain that acts as a reminder of you. You can never leave my side, You will never leave my side, You’re engraved in my arm.

And despite all of this, All the time spent with you, I do not know you.

I hate you, I hate you.

I can not escape you, Your body is a waste of space

You tell me to “conceal your marks - they don’t suit your face.”

It’s okay to let go, no one will know. After all, you’ll just be replaced.

I won’t have to look at you, You won’t look back at me. Because after all, The mirror is our worst enemy. Poker. I was never taught how to play the game, Though I learned to never reveal my poker face. We’re taught to conceal, but never to reveal. Not when I’m angry, Excited,

Especially not when I’m sad. The other players can not know what lay in my hand, For all they know I have the Royal Flush but my face will never tell. Essentially, we’re all just pawns in a poker game. Each one of us with a separate hand, Some dealt better than others, but that’s the luck of the game. The hand we’re dealt will determine our run and our fame, creating a name Either renowned or pronounced deceased Because that’s the luck of the game.

Esmé Chapman '23 -- 2nd Place Seb Jones Poetry Slam